Developing responsive disciplinary literacies for student teaching in social studies

This collaborative, single-case study explores the ways a social studies teacher candidate conceptualizes and applies disciplinary literacy (DL) teaching in practicum and student teaching experiences. Through qualitative inquiry of data collected at multiple points in the teacher education program, DL teaching was represented across six themes: skills-based theory of literacy; deep engagement with content; flow verses disruption; responsiveness; placement impact; pandemic influence. Findings affirm research that teacher candidates can be successful at implementing culturally responsive DL instruction, even in post-pandemic teaching contexts, with structured supervision. Implications for small programs of teacher education, secondary content area teacher preparation, and student teaching supervision are discussed.